February 07, 2008

The Hot Dog Vendor – Advertising marketing Fable

Here is a marketing / business fable that has been passed down over time and is now floating around the Internet in many different versions. My attempt to hunt down the original source has been futile, however the message is as true today as it was yesterday.

The Hot Dog Vendor

In Chicago, 2002 there was a hot dog vendor who sold the very best hot dogs by the side of the road. His business was booming, people loved his hot dogs, and his business steadily increases month after month. The man loved his business and believed in the need to provide great food at a great price.

This man was so busy advertising and selling his hot dogs and making lots of money, that he didn't even have time to read the newspaper or listen to the radio. Consequently, he never heard a word about a predicted recession or the need to cut back to save for the potential economic slowdown. As long as he continued to offer his delicious hot dogs, his customers bought them. He kept selling, and they kept buying.

Then one day his college educated son told him that an economic recession was surely coming. His son told him that people wouldn't have enough money to buy his hot dogs. The successful hot dog vendor believed this, so on his son’s advice, he cut back on his advertising. Additionally, he started ordering less supplies and product, because after all, people would be cutting back soon. He even went so far as to take down many of the billboards that lead to his roadside stand. And sure enough, people stopped coming to him. People stopped buying his hot dogs, and he eventually went broke.

Then he thought to himself. "How smart my son is in predicting this."

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Fiction (As far as I know) Author(s) unknown & like most fables, embellished upon and modified over time. (If you happen to be the hot dog vendor, send me an e-mail!)